Well the new case came in today. Unfortunately I didnt have a camera handy for when it arrived at work. I have been buggin the wife for a new system for about 3 years so you can understand that I was too eager to wait to dig in. I have already stripped it down to the bare chassis and begun sanding the side panels. I should have pics up before I start drilling out all the rivets for painting in the morning. I know its not complete but I just couldnt wait to get started lol. Anyways, its just painting the chassis a matte black to start and it is going to be slow going on the rest of the build as the agreement with the wife is the money we save from me quitting smoking(starting today) goes to the new system so bear with me(and any foul moods) For the record, this is my first build for myself and my first mods so bring on the feedback and suggestions

__________________ "And thus I clothe my naked villany
With odd old ends stol'n out of holy writ,
And seem a saint, when most I play the devil."

Hmm...thats exactly what my wife said...with hands over the head and everything...weird...lol! Anyways, so what Ive done is just roughed everything up(side panels, expansion slot covers and 5.25 to 3.5 drive conversion bracket with 150 grit sandpaper........smoothed out that horrible spackle finish on the sidepanels(forearms are ow btw). Bare metal is some spots but for the most part where the was paint....still there. As I will be using a self etching primer anyways I have heard that isnt too much of an issue. At this point I am just roughing everything up that I can access as I would HATE to wake the kids with the drill. Any suggestions at this point?

__________________ "And thus I clothe my naked villany
With odd old ends stol'n out of holy writ,
And seem a saint, when most I play the devil."

Looking good. I have redo the inside of my case it has chipped from sliding the side panels off and on. What I'm thinking about doing to mine and i would recommend if you can afford it. Is to bring it in and get it powder coated. It would be more durable.

looks good though. How did you find painting those expansion slot retension clips? I think I am going to lose the tool less deal on the 5.25 bays too....they seem really flimsy and dont really go with the whole color scheme im hoping for. I did some calling around for just a basic paint at autobody shops.....Im lookin at 100 bucks. Since this is my first mod, I wanted to get my hands on it personally and its only going to be a first machine thats going to end up with the wife or a buddy. Maybe a year down the road Ill start a new project and get everything done right. Especially if it is going to be a higher end case.
UPDATE: Everything is roughed up though not perfectly everywhere. But since I will be using a self etching primer anyway Im not incredibly worried about the nooks and crannies.

__________________ "And thus I clothe my naked villany
With odd old ends stol'n out of holy writ,
And seem a saint, when most I play the devil."

Wow ambitious ....quitting smoking and starting for first build and mod by completely gutting a case....impressive.

Not my first build but my first for myself. I work at a shop so I do plenty of builds for others but theres always something different about doing something for yourself lol. Every little flaw seems huge for some odd reason

__________________ "And thus I clothe my naked villany
With odd old ends stol'n out of holy writ,
And seem a saint, when most I play the devil."